Children's home run by Esland North Limited in Amber Valley

Inspection report children‟s home: SC063794 1 SC063794 Registered provider: Esland North Limited

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Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This private home provides care and accommodation for up to three young people who may have experienced childhood instability, resulting in trauma and associated complex behaviours. Since the last inspection in October 2018, two managers have left the home. The current manager has been in post since February 2019 and has applied to be the next registered manager.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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requires improvement to be good

How well children and young people are helped and protected requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The children‟s home is not yet delivering good help and care for children and young people. However, there are no serious or widespread failures that result in their welfare not being safeguarded or promoted.

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requires improvement to be good

Date of last inspection: 10 October 2018

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children‟s home: SC063794 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

10/10/2018 Full Good 10/07/2017 Full Good 31/01/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness 13/09/2016 Full Good Inspection report children‟s home: SC063794 3

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Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions that the registered person(s) must take to meet the Care Standards Act 2000, Children‟s Homes (England) Regulations 2015 and the „Guide to the children‟s homes regulations including the quality standards‟. The registered person(s) must comply within the given timescales.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must maintain records (“case records”) for each child which are kept up to date. (Regulation 36 (1)(b)) In particular, the registered manager must ensure that internal placement plans are up to date and reflect young people‟s progress. 31/05/2019

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Requirement Due date

The protection of children standard is that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe. In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed, furnished and maintained so as to protect each child from avoidable hazards to the child‟s health. (Regulation 12(1)(2)(d)) 31/05/2019

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Requirement Due date

The protection of children standard is that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe. In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure that staff assess whether each child is at risk of harm, taking into account information in the child‟s relevant plans, and, if necessary, make arrangements to reduce the risk of any harm to the child. (Regulation 12(1)(2)(a)(i)) 31/05/2019

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Requirement Due date

The leadership and management standard is that the registered person enables, inspires and leads a culture in relation to the children‟s home that helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and promotes their welfare. In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to: lead and manage the home in a way that is consistent with the approach and ethos, and delivers the outcomes, set out in the home‟s statement of purpose; ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child; understand the impact that the quality of care provided in the home is having on the progress and experiences of each child and use this understanding to inform the development of the 31/05/2019 Inspection report children‟s home: SC063794 4 quality of care provided in the home; use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home.

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Requirement Due date

(Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b)(2)(c)(f)(h)) The quality and purpose of care standard is that children receive care from staff who understand the children‟s home‟s overall aims and the outcomes it seeks to achieve for children; use this understanding to deliver care that meets children‟s needs and supports them to fulfil their potential. In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to provide to children living in the home the physical necessities they need in order to live there comfortably; (Regulation 6 (1)(a)(b)(2)(vii) 31/05/2019

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that an independent person visits the children‟s home at least once each month. The independent person must provide a copy of the independent person‟s report to: HMCI; upon request, the local authority for the area in which the home is located; the placing authorities of children; the registered provider and, if applicable, the registered manager; and the responsible individual (if one is nominated). (Regulation 44 (1)(7)(a)(b)(c)(d)(e)) 31/05/2019

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Requirement Due date

The health and well-being standard is that— the health and well-being needs of children are met; children receive advice, services and support in relation to their health and well-being; and children are helped to lead healthy lifestyles. In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure that staff help each child to— achieve the health and well-being outcomes that are recorded in the child‟s relevant plans; understand the child‟s health and well-being needs and the options that are available in relation to the child‟s health and well-being, in a way that is appropriate to the child‟s age and understanding; take part in activities, and attend any appointments, for the purpose of meeting the child‟s health and well-being needs; and understand and develop skills to promote the child‟s well- being. (Regulation 10 (1)(a)(b)(c)(2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)) 31/05/2019

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Requirement Due date

In meeting the quality standards, the registered person must, and must ensure that staff— 31/05/2019 Inspection report children‟s home: SC063794 5 seek to involve each child‟s placing authority effectively in the child‟s care, in accordance with the child‟s relevant plans; s eek to secure the input and services required to meet each child‟s needs; if the registered person considers, or staff consider, a placing authority‟s or a relevant person‟s performance or response to be inadequate in relation to their role, challenge the placing authority or the relevant person to seek to ensure that each child‟s needs are met in accordance with the child‟s relevant plans. (Regulation 5 (a)(b)(c) The registered person must ensure that each employee completes an appropriate induction. The registered person must ensure that all employees: undertake appropriate continuing professional development; receive practice-related supervision by a person with

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Requirement Due date

appropriate experience; and have their performance and fitness to perform their roles appraised at least once every year. (Regulation 33(1)(a)(4)(a)(b)) 31/05/2019

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Recommendations

 Staff should be familiar with the home‟s policies on record keeping and understand the importance of careful, objective, and clear recording. („Guide to the children‟s homes regulations including the quality standards‟, page 62, paragraph 14.4)

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improvement to be good

The two young people currently living at the home have benefited from detailed impact risk assessments. Young people say that they trust the staff and are confident in approaching staff for help and support. Staff develop positive relationships with young people. Staff talk to young people and do activities with them such as going on bike riding trips and working together on the garden. Consequently, young people develop positive relationships with staff and become increasingly settled. Staff actively support young people to maintain links with people who are important to them. This includes travelling long distances to support young people with visits to see Inspection report children‟s home: SC063794 6 their family. The positive approach supports young people to rebuild key relationships. Young people have recently started to attend school. It is a credit to the current manager that he advocated for them to have a school placement. Before he was in post,

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improvement to be good

neither of the young people were in education. Staff do not always ensure that young people are cared for in a nurturing and homely environment. Damage to the home is not always promptly repaired and some young people do not have essential furniture in their bedrooms such as a wardrobe to hang their clothes. Young people are not always supported to attend important medical appointments, such as routine „looked after child‟ health assessments and therapeutic appointments. Staff do not always use their positive relationships with young people to find ways to help and to encourage them to attend these important appointments in a way that the young person can understand. Young people know how to complain. They have access to an advocate and can contribute to the day-to-day running of the home and the quality of their care through regular planned meetings and day-to-day discussions. However, staff do not always

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improvement to be good

show in their records how they help young people. For example, staff do not always record in the young person‟s care plan details about the therapeutic support that they receive. This means that staff do not always know if a young person‟s care plan is being followed and how their needs are being met.

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improvement to be good

Staff do not always ensure that safety standards are consistently maintained. For example, the stair carpet keeps lifting and creates a potential tripping hazard. Some external doors and a window do not close properly. Young people have been able to enter a farm building because the door was not secure. Fire drills have not been kept up to date. Staff do not always keep risk assessments up to date with relevant information, especially after an incident has occurred. In addition, staff do not record when they have read a risk assessment. This means that staff do not always have the most current information to help them to reduce the risks that young people pose. Staff do not always record incidents in enough detail. This limits the ability of staff to develop an understanding of young people‟s behaviours and to develop ways of helping young people to become increasingly safe. When young people make allegations against staff, these are taken seriously and

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improvement to be good

appropriately investigated. The designated officer is involved, and the company carries out its own internal investigation. Staff know about whistle-blowing procedures and they prioritise the safety of young people in their care. Staff recruitment is safe. However, one member of staff has not received safeguarding training.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Inspection report children‟s home: SC063794 7 Staff do not always receive the support and guidance that they need to support young people. For example, staff do not always receive regular supervision and new members of staff do not always benefit from a well-planned induction. Some staff have not received an annual appraisal. Managers have not used monitoring systems to ensure that these processes take place. Not all staff are skilled or trained to meet the needs of young people. For example, some staff have not received training in understanding the effects of bullying and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Furthermore, staff have not received training in line with the home‟s statement of purpose that indicates that staff receive training in understanding sexually harmful behaviours. These gaps in training mean that managers cannot be assured that staff can accurately identify or respond to particular behaviours

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

that are likely to occur. Leaders and managers have not ensured that regular monitoring of the home is carried out by an independent person. When monitoring visits have occurred, recommendations have not been actioned. Many of these recommendations directly relate to the health and safety of young people in the home and the quality of their care. This means that leaders and managers have not used monitoring systems to improve the quality of young people‟s care and to ensure their safety. Managers have not promptly escalated concerns when there are issues with young people‟s social workers providing key documentation in a timely manner. This means that leaders and managers do not have all the most up-to-date information to assure them that young people are receiving all the help and support that they need in line with their care plans. One requirement from the last inspection has not been met. This relates to young people

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Information about this inspection

Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of children and young people. Inspectors considered the quality of work and the differences made to the lives of children and young people. They watched how professional staff work with children and young people and each other and discussed the effectiveness of help and care provided. Wherever possible, they talked to children and young people and their families. In addition, the inspectors have tried to understand what the children‟s home knows about how well it is performing, how well it is doing and what difference it is making for the children and young people whom it is trying to help, protect and look after.

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Information about this inspection

Using the „Social care common inspection framework‟, this inspection was carried out under the Care Standards Act 2000 to assess the effectiveness of the service, how it meets the core functions of the service as set out in legislation, and to consider how well it complies with the Children‟s Homes (England) Regulations 2015 and the „Guide to the children‟s homes regulations including the quality standards‟. Inspection report children‟s home: SC063794 8 Inspection report children‟s home: SC063794 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Esland North Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Suites 1 & 5, Riverside Business Centre, Foundry Lane, Milford, Belper, Derbyshire DE56 0RN

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Inspector

Karen Gillingwater, social care inspector Inspection report children‟s home: SC063794 10 achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children‟s social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, further education and skills, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children‟s services, and inspects services for children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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